Parks Highway

Parks Highway

Parks Highway

Over twelve years and $150 million went into the completion of the Parks Highway, which extends through 358 miles/576 km of Alaska’s most rugged terrain. Yet this highway need not be feared, because it is the state’s widest and best year-round road. There are over 40 bridges to cross with the longest being a 1050-foot span of the Susitna River at mile 104. The most spectacular, Hurricane Gulch Bridge, at mile 174.3 is only half the length of the Susitna Bridge, but it is a breathtaking 254 feet above the white water of Hurricane Creek.

Denali, the nation’s tallest peak, lies about half way between Anchorage and Fairbanks and can be seen from both areas on a clear day: but there’s a much better view from mile 70 at Willow. At mile 104 there is a good view of the three tallest peaks in the Alaska Range: Foraker, Hunter and McKinley, left to right. At mile 132.5 you enter Denali State Park. Denali “The Great One” is the Indian name for North America’s tallest peak. Perhaps the most spectacular view from the highway of this 20,310-foot mountain comes at mile 134.5.

The mileage figures in the following highway description correspond to the numbers appearing on the mileposts in place along most of the highway. The description begins in Anchorage and follows the route’s 358 miles to Fairbanks. The first 36 miles of this road log are on the Glenn Highway. As you reach Wasilla, you will join the Parks Highway.